Front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing systems

ABSTRACT

Loading systems for adhesives and sealants are disclosed in which flexible sealant/adhesive-containing cartridges may be loaded through the front end of a retainer into a sleeve for dispensing, and then removed from the front end of the retainer when the cartridges are spent.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 62/688,801 filed Jun. 22, 2018, which is incorporated in itsentirety herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to front-loading adhesive and sealantretaining and dispensing systems.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Adhesives and sealants have conventionally been dispensed fromdisposable cartridges using pneumatic dispensing guns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein is an adhesive sealant retaining and dispensing systemcomprising a generally cylindrical outer retainer, a front cap removablyattached to a front end of the retainer, and a generally cylindricalinner sleeve inserted in the retainer structured and arranged to receivea cartridge therein containing the adhesive or sealant.

Also disclosed herein is an adhesive and sealant retaining anddispensing system comprising a generally cylindrical outer retainer, afront cap removably attached to a front end of the retainer, a generallycylindrical inner sleeve inserted in the retainer, and a cartridgecontaining an adhesive or sealant located inside the inner sleeve andouter retainer, wherein the cartridge comprises a flexible sidewall anda rigid front end having a rear rim that contacts a front end of theinner sleep and has an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter ofthe retainer.

Further disclosed herein is a method comprising loading an adhesive andsealant retaining system as described above with a cartridge containingan adhesive or sealant by removing the front cap from the retainer,inserting a flexible sidewall of the cartridge into the inner sleeve,and attaching the front cap to the front end of the retainer.

Still further disclosed herein is a cartridge structured and arrangedfor use in an adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system asdescribed above, wherein the cartridge comprises a rigid front endcomprising a front opening and a rear rim structured and arranged tocontact a front end of the inner sleeve, and a flexible sidewallextending rearwardly from the rear rim of the rigid front end structuredand arranged for insertion into the inner sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view and FIG. 2 is an exploded side viewillustrating components of a front-loading adhesive and sealantretaining and dispensing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the front-loading adhesive and sealantretaining and dispending system of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken through section 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partially schematic side view of the dispensing system ofFIG. 3 mounted on a dispensing gun.

FIG. 6 is a side view of another front-loading adhesive and sealantretaining and dispensing system of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken through section 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are exploded isometric and side views of anotherfront-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing system ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 1-5 illustrate a front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining anddispensing system 10 of the present invention. The dispensing system 10includes a generally cylindrical outer retainer 12 having a front end 13and a rear end 14. Rear retaining pins 16 are provided near the rear end14 of the retainer 12. The dispensing system 10 includes a front capassembly 20 having a collar 21 with external threads 22. The collar 21may be attached to the retainer 12 by adhesive and/or press fit. Thefront cap assembly 20 includes a removable front cap 24 having a rim 25with internal threads 26 that threadingly engage the external threads 22of the collar 21. The removable front cap 24 has a hemi-spherical domedshape 27 and a front opening 28.

A generally cylindrical inner sleeve 30 fits inside the retainer 12. Thesleeve 30 includes a front end 31 and a back end 32 having a retainingflange 34. A plunger 36 is located inside the sleeve 30.

The tolerance or fit between the sleeve 30 and plunger 36, and thematerials used to make the sleeve 30 and plunger 36, may be selected inorder to allow the plunger 36 to move in relation to the sleeve 30 underair pressure applied by a conventional pneumatic gun, while providing asufficiently tight seal that prevents air from passing between theinterface between the sleeve 30 and the plunger 36.

An adhesive or sealant-containing cartridge 40 having a flexiblesidewall is located within the sleeve 30 and front cap assembly 20. Thecollapsible-walled cartridge 40 includes a domed rigid front end 41 witha front tip 42 and front opening 43. The rigid front end 41 has a rearrim 44. The collapsible sidewall of the cartridge 40 has a rear end 46.As shown most clearly in FIG. 4, an uncured adhesive or sealant material48 is contained within the cartridge 40.

The dispensing system 10 may be mounted on a dispensing gun 50 having ahandle 51 and trigger 52, as shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5. Thedispensing gun 50 includes a retaining bracket 53 having retaining slots54 that receive the rear retaining pins 16 of the retainer 12. It isnoted that the dispensing gun 50 is shown schematically in FIG. 5 and isnot drawn to scale. The dispensing gun 50 may be selected fromcommercially available pneumatic dispensing guns such as Semco ModelNumbers 250-A, 250-B and 350.

Another front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensingsystem 110 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The dispensing system 110 includesa front cap assembly 120 with a collar 121 having external threads.Retaining slots 123 are provided in the collar 121 for receiving frontretaining pins 18 of the retainer 12. The front cap assembly 120includes a front cap 124 having a rim 125 with internal threads 126. Theremovable front cap 124 has a hemi-spherical domed shape and a frontopening 128. The front cap 124 may be removed from the collar 121 bydisengaging the internal threads 126 from the external threads 122.Furthermore, the entire front cap assembly 120 may be removed from theretainer 12 by rotating and pulling the collar 121 away from theretainer 12 to disengage the front retaining pins 18 from the retainingslots 123.

Another front-loading adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensingsystem 210 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The dispensing system 210 includesa front cap assembly 220 with a collar 221 having retaining slots 223.The front cap assembly 220 has a hemi-spherical domed front cap portion224 with a front opening 228 therein. As shown most clearly in FIG. 8,the front cap assembly 220 includes abutment surfaces 225 at the ends ofeach retaining slots 223, and a raised abutment wall 226 locatedadjacent each abutment surface 225. A detent projection 227 is providedin each retaining slot 223, and a resilient spring finger 229 isprovided on the opposite side of each retaining slot 223 from the detentprojection 227. The front cap assembly 220 may be provided as a singleintegral unit that is removable from the front end 13 of the retainer 12by rotating and then pulling the assembly 220 away from the retainer 12to disengage the retaining slots 223 from the front retaining pins 18.The detent projections 227 and resilient spring fingers 229 provideresistance to the front retaining pins 18 in order to bias the retainingpins 18 into their locked positions within the retaining slots 223.

The retainer 12 may be made of any suitable rigid material such asmetal, plastic and the like. For example, the retainer 12 may be made ofsteel or aluminum. A viewing slot (not shown) may optionally be providedthrough the retainer 12, e.g., running parallel with the longitudinalaxis of the retainer 12. The front cap assemblies 20, 120 and 220 may bemade of any suitable material such as plastic or metal. For example, thefront cap assemblies may be made of a polymer such as nylon. The sleeve30 and plunger 36 may be made of any suitable materials such as plastic,e.g., polyethylene, polyurethane, polypropylene or the like. The plasticsleeve 30 may be slightly resilient or flexible and may have lowerthermal conductivity than the retainer 12, i.e., to provide thermalinsulation.

The flexible sidewall of the cartridge 40 may be made of relatively thinsheets of laminated foil or any other suitable type of collapsiblematerial. The domed rigid front end 41 may be made of relatively rigidmaterials such as plastic and the like. For example, the rigid front end41 and front tip 42 may be made of a polymer such as polyethylene. Theadhesive or sealant contained in the cartridge 40 may be any suitableadhesive/sealant formulation such as those used in the aerospaceindustry.

The retainer systems 10, 110 and 210 of the present invention may beused with standard adhesive and sealant guns known to those skilled inthe art including, but not limited to, pneumatically driven guns soldunder the designations Semco Model 250-A, Model 250-B and Model 350.

The retainer systems 10, 110 and 210 of the present invention may beloaded by the following steps: remove the front cap 24, 124, 224 fromthe retainer 12 by turning the cap counterclockwise; remove the usedflexible cartridge 40 and discard appropriately; load the new flexiblecartridge 40 through the front of the retainer 12 and sleeve 30, pushingback the plunger 36 inside the sleeve 30; place the front cap 24, 124,224 back on the retainer 12, threading clockwise on until tight; readyto dispense.

The retaining and dispensing systems 10, 110 and 210 of the presentinvention provide numerous advantages. A retainer utilizing a sleevecomposed of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, has less frictionthan metal, thus decreasing the time needed to load a flexible cartridgeinto the retainer. The sleeve protects the flexible cartridge from sharpedges inside the retainer. Further, the sleeve can be used to provide aflexible cartridge with a definite shape, such as when a flexiblecartridge is filled with adhesive or sealant and then flash-frozeninside the sleeve. The frozen flexible cartridge can be removed from thesleeve and stored. The defined shape of the frozen flexible cartridgeimproves ease of loading. The use of a plastic sleeve in a retainerpresents numerous other advantages, such as thermal insulation for theadhesive or sealant and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion incomparison to metal. In addition, plastic is more resilient againststressors that would normally cause metal to bend, and plastic sleevescan be economically replaced. Another advantage of the sleeve is thatthe plunger is pressurized within the sleeve, not the retainer. The lackof pressure against the retainer reduces the risk of damage to theretainer and allows for viewing windows to be positioned through theretainer. Also, when in use, the plunger applies pressure against theflexible cartridge, and the flexible cartridge releases adhesive orsealant. After the pressure is released, additional adhesive or sealantcould continue to dispense. However, when the sleeve is used, theflexible cartridge exerts force against the plunger, and the adhesive orsealant may not dispense after the pressure is released. Furthermore,the sleeve allows for the plunger to slide smoothly under air pressure.The plunger slides back with the operator pressing force when loadingthe flexible cartridge into the sleeve, and contact with the plunger ison the inside of the sleeve.

It is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternativevariations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to thecontrary. Moreover, other than in any operating examples, or whereotherwise indicated, all numbers such as those expressing values,amounts, percentages, ranges, sub-ranges and fractions may be read as ifprefaced by the word “about,” even if the term does not expresslyappear. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numericalparameters set forth in the following specification and attached claimsare approximations that may vary depending upon the desired propertiesto be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not asan attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents tothe scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least beconstrued in light of the number of reported significant digits and byapplying ordinary rounding techniques. Where a closed- or open-endednumerical range is described herein, all numbers, values, amounts,percentages, sub-ranges and fractions within or encompassed by thenumerical range are to be considered as being specifically included inand belonging to the original disclosure of this application as if thesenumbers, values, amounts, percentages, sub-ranges and fractions had beenexplicitly written out in their entirety.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forththe broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numericalvalues set forth in any of the specific examples are reported asprecisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, inherently containscertain errors necessarily resulting from the standard variation foundin their respective testing measurements.

As used herein, unless indicated otherwise, a plural term can encompassits singular counterpart and vice versa, unless indicated otherwise. Inaddition, in this application, the use of “or” means “and/or” unlessspecifically stated otherwise, even though “and/or” may be explicitlyused in certain instances.

As used herein, “including”, “containing” and like terms are understoodin the context of this application to be synonymous with “comprising”and are therefore open-ended and do not exclude the presence ofadditional undescribed or unrecited elements, materials, ingredients ormethod steps. As used herein, “consisting of” is understood in thecontext of this application to exclude the presence of any unspecifiedelement, ingredient or method step. As used herein, “consistingessentially of” is understood in the context of this application toinclude the specified elements, materials, ingredients or method steps“and those that do not materially affect the basic and novelcharacteristic(s)” of what is being described.

Whereas specific embodiments of the invention have been described indetail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and alternatives to those details could be developed inlight of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, theparticular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only andnot limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given thefull breadth of the claims appended and any and all equivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. An adhesive and sealant retaining and dispensing systemcomprising: a generally cylindrical outer retainer; a front capremovably attached to a front end of the retainer; and a generallycylindrical inner sleeve inserted in the retainer structured andarranged to receive a cartridge therein containing the adhesive orsealant.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the front cap comprises afront opening structured and arranged to receive a front tip of thecartridge therethrough, and a rear rim structured and arranged for theremovable attachment of the front cap to the front end of the retainer.3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a collar attached to andsurrounding the front end of the retainer, wherein the front cap isremovably attached to the collar.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein thefront cap is threadingly attached to the collar.
 5. The system of claim3, wherein the collar is permanently attached to the retainer.
 6. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the collar is removably attached to theretainer.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the collar comprises atleast one retaining slot, the retainer comprises at least one frontretaining pin, and the collar is removably attached to the retainer byengagement of the at least one front retaining pin in the at least oneretaining slot.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the front cap isintegrally formed with a rear collar structured and arranged for theremovable attachment of the front cap to the front end of the retainer.9. The system of claim 8, where in the collar comprises at least oneretaining slot, the retainer comprises at least one front retaining pin,and the collar and integral front cap are removably attached to theretainer by engagement of the at least one front retaining pin in the atleast one retaining slot.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the atleast one retaining slot comprises a detent structured and arranged tobias the at least one front retaining pin into a fastened positionagainst an abutment surface of the at least one retaining slot.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the detent comprises a detent projectionextending inwardly on one side of the at least one retaining slot, and aresilient spring finger located on an opposite side of the at least oneretaining slot, wherein when the at least one front retaining pintravels through the at least one retaining slot toward the abutmentsurface it contacts the detent projection and elastically deforms theresilient spring finger.
 12. The system of claim 10, further comprisingan abutment wall extending radially outward from the collar adjacent tothe abutment surface of the at least one retaining slot structured andarranged to contact the at least one front retaining pin when the atleast one front retaining pin is in the fastened position.
 13. Thesystem of claim 9, comprising two of the retaining slots and two of thefront retaining pins.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the innersleeve comprises a rear retaining flange releasingly engageable with arear end of the retainer.
 15. The system of claim 1, wherein the innersleeve comprises a front end structured and arranged to releasinglyengage the cartridge.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the cartridgecomprises a rigid front end that contacts the front end of the innersleeve.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the rigid front end of thecartridge comprises a domed front end and a rear rim that contacts thefront end of the inner sleeve.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein therigid front end of the cartridge has an outer diameter at its rear rim,the inner sleeve has an outer diameter, and the outer diameters of therigid front end and inner sleeve are substantially the same.
 19. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the cartridge comprises a flexible sidewallextending rearwardly from the rigid front end into an interior volume ofthe inner sleeve.
 20. The system of claim 1, further comprising aplunger inserted in the inner sleeve structured and arranged to slideinwardly along a longitudinal axis of the inner sleeve when air pressureis applied against a rear surface of the plunger.
 21. An adhesive andsealant retaining and dispensing system comprising: a generallycylindrical outer retainer; a front cap removably attached to a frontend of the retainer; a generally cylindrical inner sleeve inserted inthe retainer; and a cartridge containing an adhesive or sealant locatedinside the inner sleeve and outer retainer, wherein the cartridgecomprises a flexible sidewall and a rigid front end having a rear rimthat contacts a front end of the inner sleep and has an outer diametersmaller than an inner diameter of the retainer.
 22. The system of claim21, wherein the outer diameter of the rear rim of the rigid front end ofthe cartridge is substantially the same as an outer diameter of theinner sleeve.
 23. A method comprising filling the adhesive and sealantretaining system of claim 1 with a cartridge containing an adhesive orsealant by removing the front cap from the retainer, inserting aflexible sidewall of the cartridge into the inner sleeve, and attachingthe front cap to the front end of the retainer.
 24. A cartridgestructured and arranged for use in the adhesive and sealant retainingand dispensing system of claim 1, the cartridge comprising: a rigidfront end comprising a front opening and a rear rim structured andarranged to contact a front end of the inner sleeve; and a flexiblesidewall extending rearwardly from the rear rim of the rigid front endstructured and arranged for insertion into the inner sleeve.